Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) - a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval - award amount (up to $200 -000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• Education
• Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
• Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited
• A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work
• Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work
• Licensure
• Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level
• Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/
• Physical Requirements
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 - Employee Occupational Health Services English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f) May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Please see the Additional Information Section of this announcement for details
• Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker - GS-12 Experience/Education
• The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which - one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level
• Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment
• Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice
• Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty
• Licensure/Certification
• Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination - unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California - which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:(a) Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations
• This includes individual - group - and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management.(b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.(c) Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area - utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.(d) Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area - as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills.(e) Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession - and to write policies - procedures - and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area
• Assignments
• For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - complexity (difficulty) - and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level
• Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site
• a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center - or a national VHA referral center - such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center - or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity
• The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns
• Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics
• The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans - ensures equity of access - service - and benefits to this population - ensures the care provided is of the highest quality
• The senior social worker provides leadership - direction - orientation - coaching - in-service training - staff development - and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff
• They serve on committees - work groups - and task forces at the facility - VISN and national level - or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor - Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services
• This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management
• This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation
• Preferred Experience: Experience in crisis intervention - case management - resources - community referrals and discharge planning
• Knowledge and understanding of homelessness - shelter utilization - housing rules and regulations
• Experience with working in high stress atmosphere with the ability to adapt and adjust to daily schedule changes with a positive professional attitude
• Knowledge of addressing and assessing complicated psychosocial problems with those experiencing crisis to include provision of short-term - solution-focused counseling
• Advance clinical knowledge with ability to provide consultation of psychosocial needs and concerns to master's level and advance standing professionals
• (LCSW Certification is not required)
• Certification in case management is preferred - not required
• Reference can be found at the VA Qualification Repository - VA Qualifications Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) GS-0185 - Social Worker Qualification Standard - dated 9/10/2019
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: A pre-placement examination will be required to be able to determine if the incumbent is able to safely operate a government vehicle
• The following requirements must be met: distant vision 20/40 in one eye with or without correction - field of vision 70 degrees - ability to distinguish red - green and amber - whispered voice at five feet - or average hearing loss of not greater than 40 dbs
• at 500 - 1000 and 2 -000 Hz.

Duties

• *** Vacancy has been extended *** Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties include but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse - neglect - exploitation and/or intimate partner violence
• use of clinical social work skills and knowledge to maintain Veteran privacy and confidentiality per policies - handbooks or directives
• and act as an advocate with appropriate VA and community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family member/caregiver
• Incumbent independently assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members - identifying the Veteran's strengths - weaknesses - coping skills - and psychosocial acuity
• In collaboration with the Veteran - family/caregiver - and interdisciplinary treatment team - the social worker facilitates the delivery of health care services
• The social worker identifies family/caregiver stressors - conducts assessment and provides specific interventions
• The incumbent provides case management and care coordination to facilitate appropriate delivery of health care services - incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veterans - including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice
• The social worker links the Veteran with services - resources - and opportunities - in order to maximize the Veteran's independence - health - and well-being
• The social worker conducts timely assessment of at-risk Veterans in crisis to identify immediate needs - evaluate risk - and initiate safety plan as appropriate
• The social worker provides interventions independently with Veterans and their families/caregivers who are experiencing a wide range of complicated medical - behavioral health - financial - legal - and psychosocial problems
• They provide a range of interventions and treatment modalities which may include individual - group - and/or family counseling or psychotherapy
• They independently formulate and implement a treatment plan including measurable - achievable goals identifying the Veterans' needs - strengths - weaknesses - coping skills - and psychosocial acuity
• Social workers serve on committees - work groups - and task forces at the facility and VISN level or in the community
• They provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of Veterans offering professional opinions based on experience - expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills
• The social worker establishes and maintains ongoing education programs for Veterans - community agencies - students - and staff - to facilitate understanding of social work interventions specific to the Veteran/Military population
• The HCHV Outreach Senior Social Worker will be primarily responsible for the oversite of the Wood Group - an emergency shelter placement located in Big Spring - TX
• HCHV Outreach Senior Social Worker will assist in the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans (NCCHV) calls - as well as CPRS consults that filter in
• HCHV Outreach Senior Social Worker will attend local Homeless Coalition meetings that service the West Texas catchment area
• Other duties as assigned - as related to the needs of the program
• Work Schedule: Fulltime - Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m
• to 4:30 p.m
• EDRP Authorized: Contact vhaedrpprogramsupport@va.gov the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Learn more Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: Senior Social Worker (HCHV Outreach) Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized